DFS Strategy Week 10: Best Bargains at Each Position on Draft Kings

The best way to cash on weekly fantasy football sites is to load up on as many stars with good matchups as possible. Due to budget restraints, however, fantasy players must sacrifice other positions to nab the stars they want.

Here, you'll find the top bargains at each position on Draft Kings that will let you splurge elsewhere. And remember, scoring is IMPORTANT. Here is Draft Kings’ scoring system.

The bargains are listed in the order I like them.

Quarterbacks

Andrew Luck, Colts ($5,500): Luck has what looks like a tough matchup in Jacksonville, but the Jaguars haven’t been the force that they were last season. CB Jalen Ramsey is still excellent, but the Jags’ pass rush hasn’t been as ferocious, and teams have been able to light them up. That’s why you should pounce on Luck here, who hasn’t thrown for fewer than three touchdowns in five games. Luck has more volume than just about any QB in football, and two weeks ago he managed four touchdown passes despite throwing only 23 passes. Luck is an elite fantasy QB in the bargain bin for a week based on narrative about the Jacksonville D.

Baker Mayfield, Browns ($5,400): Mayfield held steady last week with his third straight two-touchdown performance, which is plenty useful at this price tag. He will look to keep it going this week against Atlanta’s 28th-ranked pass defense (FootballOutsiders.com). Mayfield’s rushing has been highly disappointing for the last two games, but he remains a threat on the ground and that’s very valuable in Draft Kings’ four-point passing touchdown format.

Nick Mullens, 49ers ($5,200): Mullens set fire to the Raiders in his NFL debut, chucking three touchdown passes and piling up 262 yards. This week Mullens gets the Giants, a team that might be as lifeless as Oakland. The Giants aren’t last in the NFL vs. the pass like the Raiders, but they’re bad! I don’t know that we can expect another flawless three-touchdown showing from him, but he looked like he can handle the offense against a soft matchup. It’s hard to go wrong at this cost.

Running Backs

Jordan Howard, Bears ($4,700): Howard is back, and the price hasn’t been readjusted. Howard has found the end zone in each of his last three games, and four times total in that span. In Week 10 he will feast upon the Lions, who have one of the NFL’s worst run defenses. They are improved up front with the addition of Damon Harrison to the D-line, but one man can’t make a whole defensive front stiffen up. Howard’s going to score again, and possibly more than once.

Mike Davis, Seahawks ($4,300): Davis will be a better play if Chris Carson is ruled out, but even with Carson in play, Davis is going to see an increase in workload. Whenever he receives significant work, Davis produces. This week he’ll see an uptick regardless due to Carson being banged up, and if the Rams decide to run up the score early Davis is a better pass catcher than Carson. An early scoring binge may lead to Rashaad Penny making a cameo, but he’s been too uninvolved to affect anyone’s decision making. At $4,300 it’s a moot point because you’ve signed a high-priced player elsewhere.

Wendell Smallwood, Eagles ($3,400): Smallwood is part of a very crowded Eagles backfield, but he’s also the pass-catching option in this crowd. While we wait to see how  Corey Clement vs. Josh Adams shakes out, we can count on 10-12 touches for Smallwood. That, plus Dallas struggling against running backs in the passing game, makes Smallwood a very sneaky play with high touchdown upside.

Wide Receivers

Josh Doctson, Redskins ($4,300): Doctson is an extremely talented player, but he has been underwhelming for all of his young career. This is a chance to shine though. The Redskins WR corps is severely banged up, leaving Doctson as the No. 1 option, even if Jamison Crowder is active. He figures to be heavily targeted, and he has second-best matchup possible in the Buccaneers, as only Oakland has topped Tampa Bay in incompetence against the pass. The Redskins rely on the running game to pace them, but Doctson’s size means he’ll be the first option whenever Alex Smith is dropping back in the red zone. He’s usually a high-risk play, but I actually love him this week.

Tyler Lockett, Seahawks ($4,800): Lockett has assumed the WR1 role for Seattle, but lately it hasn’t mattered as they’ve leaned heavily on the run. With the Rams on the schedule though, controlling the game on the ground may not be an option. If that’s the case, then Lockett will enjoy burning the Rams and their surprisingly porous secondary, which has ranked just 25th in 2018 against No. 1 WRs.

Marquise Goodwin, 49ers ($5,000): The Giants have been terrible in almost every aspect of football this year, but they’re especially poor against No. 1 receivers. That spells doom for them this week, as they will have to try and contain Goodwin, one of the NFL’s fastest players and dangerous deep threats. Nick Mullens showed he has the ability to connect for big plays last week, and he’s got to be chomping at the bit to get a crack at this defensive backfield, which weakened itself further recently by trading CB Eli Apple.

Tight Ends

Trey Burton, Bears ($3,900): Burton’s targets are disappointingly low, but often he’s managed to maximize the work with touchdowns. Expect that to be the case this week, as he lines up vs. a Lions defense that ranks 30th vs. TEs. I think Burton will find the end zone, and there is a good chance at a blowup game, which would really put you in great position to cash.

Greg Olsen, Panthers ($5,100): Olsen is a much safer play than Burton, and he has nearly as good a matchup against the Steelers, who struggle mightily to defend tight ends. You cannot go wrong here drafting Olsen, but I give Burton the nod because of the additional $1,200 discount.

Evan Engram, Giants ($3,600): Engram’s season has been a major disappointment, as injury and low target share have plagued him. That said, he salvaged his Week 8 with a touchdown, and coming off a bye figures to be involved. The Giants’ had to have used their bye week to re-assess how they use their insane skill position players, with Engram being the most criminally underused. This week the 49ers represent an opportunity for Engram to get right. s